Reversible drive control for tape record feeding mechanisms



TONE 2,666,593 REVERSIBLE DRIVE CONTROL FOR'TAPE RECORD FEEDINGMECHANISMS Filed April 9, 1948III/11111111111mill/111111III/Illall/In7/11/111/1all/1101111111111 lNVTOR. C. 6 4

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 19, 1954 REVERSIBLE DRIVE CONTROL FOR TAPE RECORD FEEDINGMECHANISMS Burnham E. Stone, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to TheInternational Electronics Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application April 9, 1948, Serial No. 19,913

12 Claims.

' This invention relates to equipment for handling and feeding elongatedrecords, the invention being particularly concerned with reversibledrive control mechanism for such equipment.

In' a. typical machine adapted to handle elongated recordsfor instance apaper tape record carrying a coating'with 'magneti zable particlesdispersed therein. a pair of tape reels are employed and reversible.drive mechanism is provided for feeding the tapevin either directionbetween therels. {A machine of this general type is discharged inthecopending application of Daniel H. Dashiell and Lloyd J. Bobb, SerialNo. 11,995, filed February28, 1948.

For reversing theydirection of tape :feed a control shaft is providedand connections serve to interconnect the drive reversing member withthe control shaft so that manual or automatic rotation of thecontrolshaft will bring about reversal in the direction of drive or feed of thetape'between the reels.

The present invention is concerned with an improved reversible drivecontrol mechanism for use in, equipment of the character referred tojust above.

One of the primary objects of the invention is the provision of areversible drive control mechanism providing for great ease of operationwhile .atthe same time providing various control stations in the rangeof adjustment at which the control member adjustment will be retainedwith assurance, to thereby provide against unintentional reversal ofdrive.

In considering-another object of the inven-- tion,-- it is first notedthat in a machine of the eneral character referred to above; asdisclosed for example in said copending application, provision is madefor automatically reversing, the direction of feed of a tape recordafter completiorroi' a run thereof in'one direction. For this purpose a;switch device is utilized, said device being operated by switch contactmeans carried by the tape record. The switch'device is included in acircuit which also comprises a solenoid adapted to act on the controlsystem in a manner to automatically bring about reversal in thedirection of tape feed upon completion of a run thereof in onedirection. It is an object.

of the present invention to provide a reversing control which is morereadily actuated or tripped by such an automatic reversing system.

'It is further mentioned-that the drive control mechanism of the presentinvention is characterized by exceptional simplicity from the 2standpoint of fabrication and assembly of the required parts.

Now the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained willappear more fully from the following description, referring to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of certainparts of a magnetic tape handling machine of the general type fullydisclosed in the copending application above identified, and furtherincorporating the improved control mechanism of the present inventionfor the reversible driver Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectionalview of certain parts, taken as indicated by the section line 2-2 on Fie 1; and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of certain parts, also to anenlarged scale, this view being taken as indicated by the section line3-3 on Figure 1.

Referring first to Figure 1, a-machine of the type to which theinvention relates incorporates a pair of reel drive spindles 4 and 5.These spindles are adapted to support and drive tape reelsdiagrammatically indicated at 6 and I. The tape is adapted to be fedbetween the reels 6 and 1 in a feed path a portion of which leads thetape into engagement with the periphery of a tape driving capstan 8secured to the capstan drive shaft 9. The specific manner in which thetape is threaded between the reels need not be considered herein sinceit forms no part of the present invention per se, but it is mentionedthat this is fully disclosed in the copending application above referredto.

The reel driving spindles 4 and 5 and the capstan spindle 9 are adaptedto be driven by a motor 4 I! carried by a'motor su port H one end ofwhich is pivoted on a vertical axis coaxially with the reel spindle 4,as by means of a bearing sleeve I2. The other end of the motor mount isprovided with a trackway Ha adapted to ride on a roller l3. mount, themotor shaft 1 4 may he brought alternatively into en agement with thecapstan drivine' disc IE which is secured to the shaft 9. or with anintermediate drive disc l which latter is also in engagement with thecapstan drive disc "5. Movement of the motor mount thus effects drive ofthe capstan disc 15 in either direction.

The drive of the reel spindles 4 and 5 includes drive rollers l! and i 8which are mounted respectively on the supporting members i9 and 20,.the. latter members in turn, having pin and slot connest-ions 2t andZZEwith the'b -qiectingfarmsioi a walking'beam or support 2 3which ispivotally' By pivotal movement of the motor mounted coaxially of thecapstan drive shaft 9. A spring 24 serves to draw the members 19. andinwardly and thus to retain the drive rollers l1 and IS in engagementwith the periphery of the capstan drive disc l5. Upon oscillation of thesupport or walking beam 23, one or the other of the drive rollers ii andi8 is brought into operation to drive one or the other of the spindles 4and 5. This drive includes a slip clutch unit indicated at for shaft 4,and at 26 for shaft 5.- When the roller l! engages the outer peripheryof the unit 25, the drive becomes effective from the capstan disc [5 tothe shaft 4; and at the other side of the machine,- when the roller 18engages the periphery of the clutch unit 26, the spindle 5 is driven.The support; 23 for the rollers I1 and [8 may be shifted by a springfinger or element 23a connected with the movable motor mount in themanner more fully disclosed in the copending application aboveidentified.

It is here mentioned that a braking force may also be applied to thespindles 4 and 5 by means of brake shoes 21 and 28 which are alsoadapted to engage the peripheral surface of the clutch units 25 and 26.These brake shoes are carried by a shift plate 28 movable toward andaway from the devices 25 and 26 and adapted to be actuated in the mannerreferred to more fully herebelow.

. A reversing controlis provided for the machine, this control includinga control shaft 30 having an operating handle 3|. The control shaft haspositions of adjustment, corresponding to forward .operation and toreverse operation. The control shaft further has an intermediate neutralsetting, and it is here pointed out that in all figures of the drawingthe parts are shown in neutral position. The control shaft 3!, isadapted to actuate various devices, as is disclosed in the applicationidentified above, includinga motor shut-off switch such as shown at 32in Figure 2 operating to shut off the motor whenever the control shaftis moved to the neutral position. Various parts of the mechanism thusfar described form no part of the present invention per se and thereforeneed not be considered in detail herein, but reference may be made tosaid c'opending application for additional disclosure of such features.

The motor reversing control mechanism of the present invention includesa drive reversing member 3 3 having a slot 34 at one end in which thecontrol shaft 36 is engaged, and further having a slot at the other endcooperating with a pin 33 by means of which the movement of the drivereversing member is established as a reciprocating movement, in adirection generally toward and away from the motor Ill. The drivereversing member 33 is connected with the motor by means of a spring 37,this spring serving as the element through which the reversing force istransmitted to the motor, to thereby swing the motor mount and shiftengagement of the motor shaft M as between its two operating positions.A bias spring 38 normally urges the motor mount in one direction, i. e.,that direction tending to bring the motor shaft IR into engagement withthe intermediate driving member [8. Such en-' gagement corresponds toreverse operation of the machine.

For the purpose of controlling the motor posi tion from the controlshaft 30, a cam and cam follower device is employed to interconnect thecontrol shaft and the drive reversing member 33,

Thus, a cam member 39 is keyed to the control shaft 3'0 so as to movetherewith, this cam mem- 4 her having a cam surface 40 cooperating witha follower roller 4| carried by the drive reversing member 33. The camsurface 40 is in large part formed as an arc eccentric with respect tothe axis of control shaft 30.

As clearly appears in Figure 1, the cam surface 40 has an intermediatestation. corresponding to neutral adjustment.- In the neutral setting(the position of Figure 1) the follower roller 41 is engaged with saidneutral station. Preferably this station is formed as a portion of thecam surface substantially concentric with the axis of the control shaft30. In the neutral station, therefore,- the-return spring 38 acting onthe motor mount will not tend to move the control shaft. The cam surface40 further has a station indicated at 42, corresponding to forwardadjustment. When the control shaft 30 is manually rotated in acounterclockwise direction when viewed as in Figure 1, the followerroller 41 engages the station t2, and-the movement from the positionshown in Figure 1. to the forward position ofadjustment draws the drivereversing member 33 toward the control shaft 30 and thereby overcomesthe biasing action of spring 38', and brings motor shaft l4 intoengagement with the capstan ,dr-ivedisc- IS. The cam station 42 isalso.- preferably formed substantiallyas an arc of acirclebohcentricwith the axis of the control shaft 30 Thus,inthe-forward position of adjustment, thereturnspring 38 does not tendtomovethe controlshaft. .At the other. end of the .cam surface-4| is a.station 43 correspondingto reverseadjustment. a

Because of the shapefof the camsurface 40, when the parts are adjustedto the. forward operating position (follower M at station 42), if thecontrol shaft is slightly shifted toward-the reverse setting, the actionofspring 38 will immediately cause the cam member-to ,swingto the otherextreme operating position, 'i. e., the re verse operating position.This .motion will be substantially unimpeded atthe neutral station,

because of the fact that the neutral station formed as a surfacesubstantially concentric with the axis of the control shaft 30.

A tripping solenoid 44 is utilized for the pur-. pose of initiatingmovement of the control shaft and the cam away from the forward.operating position. This solenoid has an armature 45 with. a nonmagneticextension 46, preferably carry.-

ing a rubber bumper or the like 87', adapted to carries a rolleriladaptedto engage a part of the'brake mounting plate 29 in the mannermore fully disclosed in the impending application above identified. Thelink 48 and the roller 53 thus constitute a means for applying the reelbrakes 21 and 48. As fully brought out in the above mentioned copendingapplication, these parts are arranged so as to apply the reel brakeswhenever the control shaft 30 is adjusted to the neu-.

tral setting and to release the brakes in either of the operatingpositions. v 7

It will be observed that in the arrangement herein disclosed, the link48 serve; two i. e., as the brake operating member and also as theconnection through which the tripping solenoid 44 operates.

Solenoid 44 is adapted to be energized by switch means, preferablyswitch means actuated by the tape itself toward the end of the runthereof in the forward direction, whereby to secure automatic reversalof the direction of tape feed. Switch means for this purpose form nopart of the present invention per se but are fully disclosed in thecopending application already mentioned,

It is to be noted that the arrangement of the solenoid in associationwith the operatinglink 48 is of advantage from still another standpoint.Thus, whenever the control shaft is manual- 1y adjusted to the forwardoperating position,

the link 48 is moved towardthe left when viewed as in Figure 1 and thismovement automatically resets the armature of the solenoid, to therebyproperly condition the solenoid for subsequent 7 operation to eifectreversal in the direction of tape feed.

I claim:

1. In equipment for handling an elongated record and having a reversibledrive for reversibly translating such a record, control mechanismcomprising a reciprocable drive reversing member having forward andreverse positions of adjustment and being spring biased toward reverseoperating position, a rotative reversing control member havingcorresponding positions of adjustment, and cooperating cam and camfollower elements one associated with one of said members and the otherwith the other of said members, the cam being configured to efiectreciprocation of said reciprocable member upon rotative adjustment ofthe rotative control member in one direction and to eifect rotativeadjustment of the rotative control member in the other direction by theaction of the spring bias, and the cam further having a substantiallyarouate station toward one end of the cam corresponding to the forwardoperating position, with the arcuate contour of said arcuate stationsubstantially concentric with the axis of rotation of the rotativecontrol member.

2. A construction according to claim 1 and further including trip meansoperative on the rotative control member to initiate relative cam andcam follower movement in a direction to disengage the cam follower fromsaid arcuate station and thereby provide for reversal of direction oftape translation under the influence of the spring bias of saidreciprocable member.

3. In equipment for handling an elongated record and havin a reversibledrive for reversibly translating such a record, control mechanismcomprising a drive reversing member adjustably movable in oppositedirections between forward and reverse positions of adjustment and beinspring biased toward reverse operating position, a manually operablecontrol member having corresponding positions of adjustment, a cam andcam follower device interconnecting the reversing member and the controlmember and serving to translate control-member adjustments intocorresponding movements of the drive reversing member, said deviceproviding for movement of the control member under the influence of thebias of the drive reversing member in a direction toward the reverseoperating position, and releasable means for retaining the controlmember and the drive reversing member in forward operating position.

4:. A construction according to claim 3 in which the cam has anintermediate neutral station comprising a notch providing againstmovement of the control member under the influence of the bias of thedrive reversing member.

5. In equipment for handling an elongated record and having a reversibledrive for reversibly translating such a record, control mechanismcomprising a drive reversing member adjustably movable in oppositedirections between forward and reverse positions of adjustment and beingspring biased toward reverse operating position, a manually operablecontrol member having corresponding positions of adjustment, and a camand cam follower device interconnectin the reversing member and thecontrol member and serving to translate control member adjustments intocorresponding movements of the drive reversing member, said deviceproviding for movement of the control member under the influence of thebias of the drive reversing member in a direction toward the reverseoperating position, the cam having a station for the cam follower at apoint corresponding to forward operating position comprising a notchproviding against movement of the control member under the influence ofthe bias of the drive reversing member.

6. A construction according to claim 5 and further including tripmechanism operative on the control member to eifect relative movement ofthe cam and cam follower to disengage the follower from said stationcorresponding to the for ward operating position and thereby provide forcontinued movement of both of said members toward the reverse positionunder the influence of the bias of the drive reversing member.

'7. A construction according to claim 6 and further includin meansoperable by a record to effect tripping of said trip mechanism.

8. In equipment for handling an elongated record and having a pair ofreels, a reversible drive for reversibly translating such a recordbetween the reels, releasable brakes for the reels, a manually operablecontrol member for the drive and brakes having positions of adjustmentcorresponding to forward drive, neutral and reverse drive, a brakeactuating element operable by the control member to apply both brakes inneutral setting of the control member and to release both brakes ineither of the operating settings of the control member, and mechanismoperating on said brake actuating element to move the control memberfrom one operating setting toward the other. i

9. In equipment for handling an elongated record and having a pair ofreels and a reversible drive for reversibly translating such a recordbetween the reels, a manually operable control member for the drivehaving positions of adjustment corresponding to forward drive andreverse drive, and control mechanism comprising a solenoid having anarmature operating on the control member to effect movement of thecontrol member from one operating setting toward the other.

10. A construction according to claim 8 in which said mechanismcomprises a solenoid having an armature operating on the brake actuatingelement andmovable thereby to provide for resetting of the armature uponmanual movement of th control member to forward operating position.

11. A construction according to claim 9 and further including anoperating element through which the solenoid armature transmits saidforce to the control member, the operating element also acting on thesolenoid armature to reset the armature upon manual movement of thecontrol member to forward drive position.

12. In equipment for handling an elongated record and having a pair ofreels between which such a record is fed, a record drive systemincluding a rotative drive element shiftably movable between twopositions to alternatively drive the record in opposite directions, amanually operable 'rotative drive reversing control member, areciprocable link connected with the rotative drive element andreciprocably shiftably movable therewith, a bias spring acting to movethe rotative drive element and the connected link in one direction, acam connected with the rotative control member, and afollower for saidcam connected with said link, the cam having a cam surface operating toshift the said link and thus the rotative. drive element in a directionagainst the action of the bias spring when the rotative control memberis moved in one direction and acting on the cam follower to move thedrive control member in theopposite direction under the action of said.bias spring.

I BURNI-IAM E. STONE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber Name Date Paine Jan. 28, 1902 Ries Nov. 1, 1904 Foster et a1 Aug.18, 1936 Foster Feb. 1, 1938 Ross -1 Apr. 19, 1938 stechbart Feb. 13,1940 Kuhlik Sept. 24, 1946 Waite Oct. 15, 1946 Begun Apr. 22, 1947 StoneApr. 19, 1949 Nefi Mar. 14, 1950 Moreland et a1. Aug. 7, 1951 FOREIGNPATENTS Country Date Germany Oct. 7, 1920'

